The Heist
by KreativeKreature
Summary: Have you ever felt like every event in your life is out of your control? Like it's all a lie? Hoax? Sham? "I'm no one, and pretty soon… you will be too." Welcome to The Heist.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Well, remember that new thing I said I had coming... Well here it is, live and in the flesh. This project is a little different from what I usually do. I want this to be fun, exciting.**

**I would also like to take time out to thank theses wonderful people. Twilly Lady_Twilight86, walkingwithgiants, myherion1, and LivieLiv79 for their help in pre-reading and for encouragement when I felt like this particular project would turn into a pile of poo-poo, LMFAO! You guys are so SUPER awesome for your support. I couldn't have done it without you all. **

**Also to Anthrobug and bigblueboat, the girls at PTB who helped me get this prologue all shiny and polished, thank you guys!**

**One last thing, if _any_ mistakes are found, they are my _own_. I have a terrible case of... what-ever-the-fuck, and I tend to tinker with things. *giggles***

**ENJOY! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or any of the characters. But I do own a peanut butter and jelly sam-mich! NOM!**

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**Summary: ****Have you ever felt like every event in your life is out of your control? Like it's all a lie? Hoax? Sham? "I'm no one, and pretty soon… you will be too." Welcome to The Heist.**

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"I'm sorry Mr. Masen, I do understand the inconvenience, but at this time we can't give you a ten thousand dollar loan with a credit score of 580." The generic loan officer drawled on, effectively deflating my ego.

Not only was my credit score absolute crap, my whole plan to get out of debt was squelched in the matter of brief fifteen minute meeting. He offered his hand in condolence, and a way to rush me out of his office.

Taking his hand out of pure obligation, I departed the bank with a sinking in the pit of my stomach and my tail between my legs. Reality hit me...

_I'm about to get evicted!_

I pinched the bridge of my nose, and exhaled a long sigh of frustration. Honestly, I was at the end of my rope and there was absolutely no way out. The cloud of misery that had been following me around for the past year of my life, had finally opened with a torrential downpour of bullshit. I clenched my eyes at the surge of pain that stretched from temple to temple.

_Son-of-a-bitch that hurts!_

I walked into the nearest convenience store in dire need of a small dose of _Excedrin Migraine™ _or something. After locating the single dose packs and a soda, I walked up to the counter.

"That'll be $3.17." The guy behind the register was your run-of-the-mill cashier. Nothing special...but something wasn't right. He wasn't focused on me or the task at hand He was staring pointedly over my shoulder. I fished out my wallet and sat my money down on the counter.

After receiving my change, I chanced a glance over my shoulder. Standing behind me was a small girl, a brunette. Her features were almost child-like, she couldn't have been a day over 20. She looked innocent, sweet...until she lunged at me.

The force of her body, knocked the air out of me in a harsh whoosh. Before my back hit the ground a gunshot was fired, and every worst case scenario filled my head.

_Oh God, I'm going to die._

_Fuck my life, I'm in the middle of a robbery!_

_She's going to kill me!_

Grasping the collar of my shirt, she snatched me backwards towards a small aisle and looked me square in the eye. The sheer intensity sent a chill down my spine and in a low husky voice she said, "Don't move. I'm saving your skin. Understand?"

I swallowed thickly, nodded, and closed my eyes against the onslaught of another ripping pain in my head.

I had always battled migraine headaches, even as a small child, but I guarantee you that the thought of bullets whizzing past my head was not helping. She stood, still crouching behind the shelf and pulled a whole arsenal from the back of her pants. In each hand she held a _Heckler & Koch_ MP5K. Shots rang through the store at an alarming rate, and being the pussy that I was, I curled up in a ball at her feet, trembling in terror.

This whole situation seemed as if it had come right off of a green screen, and played out before my very eyes. I pulled out my phone and tried to stealthily dial 9-1-1, but oddly I had no service. None. Even though the entire situation screamed surreal, I found it harder to believe that I couldn't get a shred of service in the middle of Seattle!

My ears were ringing, and I reeled at the pulsing pain in my head once again. It was unbearable, and the worst jolt I could ever recall having.

"You won't get service dipshit. I have a cell jammer in my pocket." She snapped peering over her shoulder at me.

"I wasn't...I was just..." I stammered.

"Oh...were you checking for a text?" She asked sweetly. Before I could open my mouth I had the barrel of an miniature automatic assault rifle pointed between my eyes. "Don't you dare lie to me."

My mouth snapped shut, and my heart thundered in my ribcage. I realized my hands were shaking as I held them up for defense. "No..please. I won't say anything. I swear. Just let me go."

A blur of blonde caught the corner of my eye, and apparently the sight of my assailant. She whirled at lighting speed and unloaded her entire clip, aiming at her target.

A loud 'FUCK' resonated through the store as a bullet grazed the blonde haired man. He ducked and disappeared out of the back door of the store. Looking over to the glass storefront she motioned towards the door that the now wounded male escaped through and turned her cold eyes towards me.

"Get up." She snapped. I scrambled, tripping over my own limbs in the process and crashing into the shelf of potato chips next to me. Uncharacteristically, she steadied me on my feet and rocked forward on the balls of her feet.

"Let me just say this. From this point on, you do exactly what I say. No deviating from the plan. It'll make more sense later, but I need you to just listen to me." I nodded trying to get my breathing under control, and failing miserably.

"W-who are you?" I exclaimed, backing away slightly from her in pure fear.

"I'm no one, and pretty soon...you will be too."

That was the very moment, that Edward Anthony Masen ceased to exist.

Welcome to The Heist.


	2. The Chase

**A/N: Wow. Cannot believe the response I received from this fic! Thanks to all of you for your favorites, follows, tweets and DEFINITELY those who took the time out to review. It really means a lot!**

**Big thanks to the gals over at _The Fictionators_ for posting my teaser! You guys are so totally awesome!**

**Also a big to my incredible team or pre readers, Twilly and walkingwithgiants. Also to my Beta MyHeroine1! You guys rock! MWAH! **

**Disclamer: I don't own twilight, or any recognizable characters. But I do own this freaked out, VERY nervous Edward! ;)**

**Enjoy my loves! xoxoxox**

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My head was still pounding when she all but drug me out of the convenience store. I was ushered toward a sleek black corvette, with dark tinted windows. After she roughly pushed me towards the passenger side, I acquiesced and folded myself in. I took note that the car was already running and ready to go, not only that, but strategically placed.

My thoughts must have been all over my face, because she leaned forward, until we were nose to nose. "Hey pretty boy, if you try anything funny. It's your ass. It's a rare occasion that I miss my mark. Capiche?"

Before I could answer, she slammed the door and darted around to her side. I barely regained my bearings before we sped off into traffic. The gears in my mind spun at a furious pace as one lone puzzle piece clicked into place.

_She didn't take one single item, no cash._

_Who and what the hell was she after? She didn't try to chase the blonde guy._

_Only me._

_Me._

_**Me.**_

_This was planned!_

"Well, you're an observant little shit, aren't you?" She deadpanned, eyes straight forward on the road.

Apparently my brain to mouth filter wasn't working, and I had spoken aloud. "But _why_? How did you even know where I'd be?"

Her eyes flickered to me briefly before she refocused on the road, "You ask too many questions, just sit back and enjoy the scenery."

I stared at her. Blinked once, twice. Then I laughed, not humorously, but a knee-jerk reaction to the insanity of it all.

"Are you serious right now!" I snapped. "You barge into a mini-mart, in the middle of Seattle, grab me, _abduct me, _and you have the nerve to tell me I ask too many questions!"

She didn't flinch at the volume of my voice, never even looked my way. Obviously, my questions fell to deaf ears because I didn't receive acknowledgment or a response. I huffed and stared out at the whizzing scenery. A flash of light caught the corner of my eye. Despite the pain in my head, I whirled around staring out of the back window.

Squad cars, and I'm not talking about one or two, there were about nine officers on our tail. I breathed a silent 'thank you' to whomever was watching over me.

That is, until she snorted flippantly.

"You're not going to outrun them." I stated. A slow smile spread across her face as one perfectly shaped brow rose in challenge.

"You are _NOT _going to outrun them!" I exclaimed, my voice sounding more demanding. .

"Alright boys, you want to play..." she mumbled to herself quietly, "let's play."

Inertia pinned me to the seat as she floored the Corvette. As she careened into oncoming traffic, she maneuvered, swerving in and out, missing each vehicle by a hair. A keening, braying sound filled the small cab of the sports car. I didn't realize it was me until I felt the back of her tiny hand slam into my chest in irritation.

"Would you _shut up_! GOD I can't concentrate with you doing that!" She snapped. It was the first time she acknowledged me with any other emotion besides disdain.

"Oh God, we're gonna die. We. Are. Gonna. DIE!" I was having a total meltdown.

Sure, it was a little over the top, but seriously, you wouldn't understand until the grill of a Mack truck is coming straight for you.

This _girl, _whateverthefuck her name was, dutifully ignored my cries of peril while intently weaving through traffic at an alarming speed. Finally, after blowing through every red light in the Seattle business district, we hit I-5 pushing the motor well over 110 mph.

To say I was losing my shit, would be the understatement of the year.

"Would you _please, _for the love of _God_, slow down! You lost the cops fifteen minutes ago!" I screeched.

She scrubbed her hand down her face, her lips twisted in fury. My heart stuttered in my chest as she literally slammed on the brakes, coming to a dangerous sliding stop.

"If you don't shut your _FUCKING_ mouth, I promise you that I will put a bullet in your cranium burying you faster than a fart in a windstorm. Are we clear?"

My mouth dropped open, closed and dropped open again before I managed to squeak, "Crystal!"

I was pinned to the seat once again as we continued south on I-5. I normally had no reason to come this far south, so when we exited the freeway on exit 142B, I realized I had absolutely no idea where we were going.

I'm naturally an inquisitive person, so when the question, "Where are we going?" bubbled up and out of my mouth, I slapped my hand over my mouth, covering my head with my free hand and arm.

I must have looked like a total idiot because the oddest, most spectacular thing happened. She laughed, and I mean a good old throw-your-head-back-gut-warming laugh. Despite the whole ordeal from the moment I met this miniature terrorist, my lips quirked up at her musical laughter.

"Eatonville." She stated simply once she sobered a little, a small smile still on her lips.

"Can I ask you one more thing?" I inquired quietly, taking advantage of her merriment.

"You're pushing it Masen." She huffed, returning to her former self, "But go ahead."

"What is your name?"

She sat in contemplation for a brief moment, her bottom lip disappearing behind her teeth. Her attention was on the road again as she turned off into a covert little trail, barely visible from the main road. She was quiet for so long that I didn't think she would answer. "I don't have a name Edward..." She sighed, pressing her fingertips into her temples, "but, you can call me Bella."

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**If you guys are wondering about my update schedule, I'm not really sure about it at this point. My goal is once a week! Teasers are going to be posted on Mondays at _The Fictionators_ blog. If for any reason it's not going to be available, I'll make sure you guys know!**

**Also, I will be posting rec's at the bottom starting next chapter! I didn't really have time today to prepare the links and summaries. If you have any suggestions please PM or Tweet me at MzKKCullen!**

**Until next time!**

**XOXOXOXOXOXO**

**KK**


	3. The Grotto

**Haiiiii guyyyyssss! Welcome back!**

**Okayyyy, A few thank yous are in order! First and foremost, thanks to Twilly and Walkingwithgiants for pre reading, and MyHeroin for beta-ing this peice. I LOVE YOU GUYS!**

**Thanks to Caren and Kassiah (The Fictionators)! You guys do an AWESOME job! YOU ROCK!**

**Also, thank you my dear dear readers! I love the favorites, alerts, and reviews. You make this thing worth writing!**

**I'm sorry that this is so short, BUT the next chapter is much longer. This is more of a "bridge chapter". This had to be done to get to where I needed to go. If I had not ended it here, the whole chapter would have been a ****_monster_****!**

**I hope you guys enjoy it! **

**Disclaimer****: All things Twilight belong to . But this plot, is MINE! **

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Bella.

I took a quick glance over the woman beside me, she had a sort of peaches and cream complexion with long chestnut colored locks that tinted auburn in the sunlight. Even though her hair was all twisted up in a messy bun, it was obvious that it was naturally wavy. Her eyes were large and round, doe eyes, with a smooth chocolate hue that was disrupted only by golden topaz flecks. My eyes swept down her perfectly symmetrical nose to a pair of shapely pouty pink lips.

Yes, Bella suited her perfectly.

She was in fact, beautiful.

I quickly shifted my glance towards the dilapidated path we were traveling on, noticing a clearing up ahead.

"Welcome to _'The Grotto'_ pretty, boy." She snickered as my jaw unhinged.

This place looked_ horrible_! I thought the path here was bad, but it was nothing compared to what looked like an old boarding school. The windows were broken, several pieces of the masonry was cracked and missing, and the landscape...we just won't go there.

I hopped out, looking at her incredulously.

She snickered behind her hand, looking everywhere but at me.

"You're kidding right? Am I on candid camera or something?" I huffed, fisting my hair in irritation.

She merely shook her head, moving towards the entrance to the shoddy building. "You coming or what?"

I followed behind her, albeit reluctantly. The stench of mold and dampness almost overwhelmed me. As we walked across the crumbling cement, we made it to one single pillar standing in the middle of the room. In the scheme of things it seemed out of place until she slid a well hidden compartment out of the side and aligned her wrist with a laser beam in that shone right down the middle.

I hadn't noticed the small barcode permanently etched into her skin. With a beep and a click a trap door dropped about 10 feet away. Without a word she walked towards it and descended the stairs to the landing below.

I followed suit and continued to follow her to a large steel door. She scanned her wrist again and the door retracted.

"Wow..." I trailed off as I took in the vast area. It was almost cave like, but nice in an eerie type way. The archway was carved in stone with wall sconces leading the way. I almost expected a Knight in armor to launch at me wielding a sword. We finally made it to a large mahogany double door. She pushed it open, waving me forward.

"After you, pretty boy." She stated flatly.

"You know, you can call me Ed..." My voice disappeared, as I scanned my surroundings. We had entered a conference room of some sort. The walls were concrete, much like the rest of what I'd seen, but it more or less decorated like a board room. The decor wasn't what shocked me into silence. It was the fact that all conversation ceased the moment I entered the room and there were six pair of eyes trained on me.

Four men. Two women.

At the head of the table sat a man that looked to be in his late fifties with dark black hair that fell right above his shoulders, and olive colored skin. His slate grey eyes held an air of misheif.

To his right, a withering older man sat with his fingers tented beneath his chin. His hair was much longer, with fairer skin. His expression was cold, hard and lifeless.

To his left was a much younger man. His hair was a striking blonde, but his eyes were equally so, almost unnaturally blue. He seemed to be the younger of the aforementioned two.

I assumed they were in charge simply by place.

To the other end of the table sat the two females and the other guy. My skin prickled as I assessed his size. The guy was huge, and extremely intimidating. All of six and a half foot tall and two hundred fifty pounds, his smirk did nothing to ease my tension.

Lastly, the two women sized me up from head to toe. One small and meek, with child-like features. The other was a red headed bombshell, complete with the body of a fifties pinup.

Bella pointed to each one, introducing them by name.

"Aro." The head.

"Marcus." The withering wisdom.

"Cauis." The youngbuck.

"Alec." The sledgehammer

"Jane." The chameleon.

"Victoria." The spit-fire.

"Hello Edward. I've been waiting a long time for you, my boy. Welcome." Aro greeted with a dark smile. "Why don't you have a seat?"


	4. Extermination

**A/N: *waves* Hi Guys! Welcome back!**

**First let me get all my thank you's out of the way. *clears throat***

**First and foremost, I _must_ thank my team. Walkingwithgiants, and Twilly for their pre-reading expertise! MyHeroin01 for her spectacular beta skills.**

**Thanks to the girls over at _The Fictionators_ Caren and Kassiah! You guys do a great job! **

**Also, TH was featured as 'New Fic of the Week' over at Indieficpimp! *throws confetti* Thank you ALL and I have to tell you that I'm TOTALLY flattered! Love and kisses to you!**

**Thank you guys (readers) for the continued support, alerts, favorites and reviews! It means so much! I apologize for not being able to respond to reviews this week. RL kicked my _ass!_ That won't happen that often!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight... blah, blah, blah. So on and So on. *snort***

**Enjoy and see me at the bottom! *winks***

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"You want me to do _what_!?" I exclaimed, my eyes darted around the table from face to face. Each solemn expression told me exactly what I needed to know.

Assassin=Murderer.

Aro leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on the table as steepled his fingers underneath his chin. "Edward..." he paused in contemplation before continuing, "There is an order in this world. The light, the undecided, and the darkness. Without all three tiers, there would be chaos."

I felt my eyebrows furrow in confusion as he continued. "Without darkness, there is no light. How would you discern one without the other? Not only that, but there is the undecided. At some point there will be an event, an event that will decide which fork in the road to take. What we do here is help that decision to be made."

My brow dipped down to the point of discomfort as I contemplated exactly what he must have meant. I felt the tingling of something in the back of my mind. Something, I don't know, familiar? Like I had possibly heard it all somewhere before?

"Don't hold your thoughts to yourself, please indulge me." He waved his hand before he sat back, crossing his leg over the other ankle.

"So, are you trying to insinuate that 'fate' isn't an intangible force? Instead fate is here in the flesh, and it is controlled by human hand?"

"Exactly." He concluded with a blinding smile.

My gaze dropped to my hands in my lap as I contemplated his 'theory'. My subconscious was screaming at me, pushing my rational side to the forefront. All in all, this was just a way to candy coat murder. But what if, on the off chance, he was right?

_Well, why this particular guy? _

_What has he done to make him such a bad person? _

_How am I more qualified to to take him down than a trained assassin?_

I swallowed thickly, thinking back over the shit hand I was dealt in life. I had already been stripped of anything that had an inkling of meaning. Family. So-called friends. Money. _Love_.

Love.

My vision blurred in anger at the mere thought of the emotion. I had a certain strawberry-blonde to thank for that.

_What do I have to lose?_

It was with that thought that I lifted my gaze once more to Aro. "What exactly do I have to do?"

Aro's smile widened infinitesimally, "Train." He said simply, as if it was the answer to all my questions. My confusion must have been apparent in my expression because he chuckled quietly before continuing, "You have a certain, hmmm, capability. It's something you must exercise for maximum strength, much like your arms and legs."

I snorted incredulously, "I take it you're not talking about the fact that I can type 112 words per minute. That's about all I have."

His lips curled into a dark smile, "No son, that's not what I meant. Your mate will explain more of this 'training' to you."

I tensed in my seat staring at him in alarm, "Did you just say..._mate_?"

One solemn nod was his only response.

"What the hell do you mean _mate!?_ What the _fuck_ are you breeding around here!?"

I slowly followed his line of sight, until I met the amused gaze of my captor. She scoffed indignantly, "It's not what you think. Let me tell you, it's only mechanical."

My head snapped in Aro's direction in irritation, "Is _that_ supposed to make it better!?"

Aro scrubbed his hand down his face in annoyance, leveling Bella with a glare hot enough to melt pure copper. "What she means by mechanical is simply that you two balance. Let me explain it like this, has anyone ever told you that math is a definite? Either it works, or it doesn't, right?" I nodded silently as he continued, "What does one divided by one equal?"

"One." I answered in unison with Bella.

"Exactly. Her ability covers the shortcomings of yours and vice versa. When you two begin working and training together, it'll all make perfect sense."

"Come on pretty boy, we have some things to settle." Bella snapped, all the while sending a death glare toward her superior.

I vaguely registered the devious smirks and smiles from the rest of the party in attendance. Once again, we made our way to the main hallway, me hot on her heels.

"What '_things'_ do we have to settle?" I asked, reluctantly.

"First, I to have you eliminated, then I..."

"What!?"

She threw her hands up in exasperation,"That means you are wiped clean from existence. No government records, dental records, medical records...get the point? You. Don't. Exist."

Oh..._Oh!_

"Listen, if I'd wanted to kill you, you would have died in that convenience store on aisle two with the potato chips."

I nodded dumbly, as she continued to tick off her mental itinerary, "After I have your files wiped cleaned, I need to take you to the catacombs to show you your room. Then, we head to the kitchen and get you some food! You're practically wasting away!"

My head dropped in shame, as I really just took in my appearance. In the past three months I had lost roughly thirty pounds. Factor in stress and not being able to afford to indulge in 'groceries' and you have a foolproof diet plan. The Ramen Noodle diet apparently wasn't maintaining my normal 180 pounds. My once average build was down to the spindly form of an awkward teenager.

"I haven't really had the means to eat properly." I stated quietly, humiliation creeping into my tone.

She halted her steps abruptly peering over her shoulder at me. Her eyes softened just a bit and she nodded in understanding, completely dropping the subject. I followed her down through a few more hallways until we stepped into a room that looked like the spaceship from _Star Trek. _

There were monitors _everywhere._

In the very center of the kidney shaped tech board, was a tiny little thing, with a head full of wild black spikes. She glanced over her shoulder appraising me once with a pair of slate grey eyes. Her eyes snapped to Bella, giving her a little grin.

"What do we have here? Is this your soulmate?" The little imp asked, all the while trying to smother her giggles.

"Oh yes, the regular old love birds." Bella deadpanned.

This miniature person, whoever she was, threw her head back and laughed, "Whatever, at least he's cute. You could've been mated with Caius for fuck's sake."

They both visibly cringed as she turned to me and smiled, "I'm Alice, Allie for short."

"Edward." I said quietly with a nod.

"So, what brings you by my domain, Bee?" She inquired, pulling her glasses from the top of her head down to the bridge of her nose.

"I need a full elimination."

Allie nodded once, wagging her head over the far left side of the room, "Step right up!" She pointed to a flat black pad, no bigger than a shoebox, "Place both of your hands palm down, press firmly, and be _very_ still, okay?"

I nodded as she clicked away at an attached keyboard. A red laser beam slowly scanned the length of each hand. All three of us watched the screen as my credentials flashed at lightning speed. Diplomas, social security card, birth certificate, and so on.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as the panic crept through my body. This was real. This was actually happening.

As my life literally flashed before my eyes, I realized had reached the point of no return.

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**So what are you thinking so far? Has anything become 'clearer' for you?**

**I noticed a lot of you have been pondering what Bella's M.O. is. So with that being said, we'll be taking a peek inside of Bella's head next chapter! **

**You can follow me MzKKCullen on twitter for sneak peaks, teasers and random fuckery. *smiles***

**Also the rec of the week this week is: Chop and Change by KrazyK85! FFN totally fucked the idea of putting links in the documents so yeah... just search it. LOL!**

**Thanks for reading! Leave me some love, and I will see you next tuesday!**

**xoxoxoxoxoxo**

**KK**


	5. Pairing of Danger

**IMPORTANT PLEASE READ!**

**A/N: Okay guyz, first of all I have to get this out. THE HEIST WAS NOMINATED FOR FIC OF THE WEEK OVER AT TEH LEMONADE STAND! *throws confetti* I am SO totally floored right now, I don't know what to say! Well, I kind of do. THANK YOU! To everyone who rec'd this and just... GAH! If you want to vote please head on over within the next day or so. The poll will be closing! **

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**As always I'd like to say thanks to Twilly for her pre-reading awesomeness, and to MyHeroin01 for her spectacular beta skills! **

**Also thanks to Raindropsoup for her fantastic piece on TwiFicCentral. ILY!**

**Caren and Kassiah (The Fictionators) for their support with Teaser Monday. **

**And last but not least, my girls EvilNat and NicFFWhisper at TLS. You guys give me so much joy! ILY BOTH! MWAH!**

**Erm... this is long enough. I'll see you at the bottom. LMFAO! **

* * *

**Bella**

"Welcome to _'The Grotto',_ pretty boy." I said, watching as his mouth dropped in horror. I couldn't suppress the giggle that erupted at his expression.

_Cardinal rule number one: Never judge a book by it's cover. Nothing is what it seems._

I shook my head at the rookie mistake as he followed me, albeit begrudgingly, through the smoke and mirrors. I heard a small gasp behind me as he took in his surroundings. He followed me to through the cavernous space until we reached the boardroom.

When I pushed open the door, all eyes were on us ...mainly _him_. I took my usual seat and he sat across from me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Victoria give him a slow once over from head to toe.

_Man-eater_

I scoffed internally, blocking out the entrance speech and actually _looked_ at Edward. His eyes were a deep shade of jade, swirling with hues of browns and yellows, framed by a high sculpted cheekbones. His jawline was rigid and defined, covered with a light dusting of scruff. His lips, they were perfectly carved with a healthy pink hue. My eyes travelled upward to the wild mane, artfully tousled and strewn about. It wasn't the fact that it was 'sex hair' that caught me off guard, it was the unusual color that was so intriguing. Almost brown, but more coppery... like a penny with highlights of red.

Edward Masen was _pretty_.

I watched as his eyes dropped to his lap in contemplation. He looked almost angelic. The way his lashes fanned across those perfect cheekbones. All of a sudden his eyes snapped to mine and back to Aro. At that point I decided that maybe I should tune back in to what was being said.

"Did you just say ..._mate!?_"

Ah. The pairing of danger portion of the evening. I felt the beginnings of a smile at the corner of my lips. Yep, it's official, he's _freaking_ out.

Slowly, his eyes made their way to mine. He looked _appalled._

Maybe I'm not Marilyn Monroe, but I'm not a Rosie O'Donnell either! I huffed indignantly and scowled at him, then carefully schooled my expression to something akin to disdain, "It's not what you think. Let me tell you, it's only mechanical."

No reason to give him the impression that he was significant enough to ruffle my feathers. He flailed gesturing towards me, directing his words at Aro, "Is _that_ supposed to make it better!?"

Aro glared at me heatedly. I returned his ice cold stare ten-fold. I could read his message loud and clear from his eyes alone.

_Don't. Fuck. This. Up._

I listened to the very same speech he had given Alec and Victoria when they first arrived and supplied the right answers. It took extreme tolerance on my behalf to squelch the epic-eye-roll that threatened to surface. When there was a lull in the conversation, I grabbed the chance to ditch the heaviness of the conference.

I stood abruptly, wagging my head towards the door, "Come on pretty boy, we have some things to settle."

I leveled Aro with a message of my own as I lead 'Hot-Boy McWhiney Pants' out the door.

_Fine! I'll do this, but I don't have to __**like**__ it!_

No sooner than the heavy wooden doors swung shut behind us, he fired off another question. "What _'things' _do we have to settle?"

"First, I have to have you eliminated, then I..." That about as far as I got before he screamed yet again. I rolled my eyes, throwing my hands in the air. If I had _wanted_ to kill him, he would've been dead three hours ago, in the mini-mart, next to the potato chips.

I told him as much and he seemed to calm down. Sadly, his moment of peace was short-lived. I literally watched the color drain from his face as his life records were obliterated. The frustration bubbled up once again, and before I spouted off another snarky comment, a fleeting thought crossed my mind.

_He __**should**__ be scared._

I actually felt a pang of guilt in my chest. After all the things I had done before and after being employed by Aro, the sudden onslaught of the emotion was shockingly strong. All frustration melted away when he turned his wide frightened eyes to me.

I softened my expression tugging on his wrist, "Come on, let's go grab a bite to eat and we can talk a little, okay?"

He nodded, shuffling along behind me. I threw up my hand in a half wave to Alice, "See ya around, short stuff."

"Ditto Bellissima!" She chirped back, already clicking away at her keyboard.

After we both grabbed a chicken ceasar salad and a bottle of water each, I opted to take a table toward the back of the mess hall in a more secluded area. Edward tucked into his food immediately. His comment from earlier drifted to the forefront of my mind again.

"_I haven't really had the means to eat properly." _

A fresh wave of guilt washed over me. I decided that was a better topic for another time, judging by his embarrassed expression when he said it.

The tense silence between us was beginning to smother me when he finally broke the silence. "How old are you?"

"Reaaaaal suave, Edward. Hasn't anyone ever told you, 'never ask a woman her age'?" I deadpanned, spearing a leaf of lettuce.

His face pinkened slightly as he tried his best to back pedal, "No! That didn't come out right! I mean... you look so... _young_!"

I snorted, chewing slowly deciding to let him off the hook easy. "27."

He nodded stiffly, spinning the top of his water bottle nervously.

"Edward, you were so inquisitive earlier. I basically had to threaten your life to get you to shut up..." his eyes snapped to mine and I held my hands up, palm out in surrender, "but that wasn't the time or the place. With that being said, ask away."

He contemplated for a second before firing off his first question, "What's so special about me? What _'capability' _do I have that Aro is so hell bent on harnessing?"

I closed my eyes and sighed. It would be my luck that he would ask the questions that I couldn't answer. "Your capability_ is _what's so special about you, but the unfortunate part is I can't tell you what it is."

"You _can't _ or _won't_?"

"Both." I answered solemnly. His mouth opened to rebut my statement but I shook my head, effectively stopping that rant I was sure was to come. "I want to, but I can't. No one here knew what they were capable of until they found out themselves. Aro believes that you won't be able to control it, unless _you_ discover it. I may be stuck with you, but I can't help you with that one. That mission is all your own."

He frowned, shaking his head, "You act like I have X-ray vision or something."

My shoulders bobbed with a silent laugh as I shook my head, "I've seen stranger things."

"Well then, can you at least tell me _why_ I'm doing this? And don't give me that 'fate' bullshit."

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table, dropping my chin in my hands and cocked a brow. "In the end, does that really matter?"

"Wh-what? Yes, it matters!" He stuttered, obviously flabbergasted at my disdain.

"Let me let you in on a little tip. Morals? Lose them. In this line of work, if you focus on that, you'll lose your mind. In order to keep your sanity, you have to work with the mindlessness of an assembly line." With that I stood and wagged my head towards the door. "Come on, let me show you your room."

* * *

**Okay, to address some questions. My update schedule will be every Tuesday if RL permits. I will let you know if anything changes! ****I'm updating a little early because of the TLS nomination, I feel like you guys deserve it! ****:D**

**This story is AU, AH, OOC... and anything else you may think applies. LOL! I kinda forgot to put it in the summary.**

**RECS OF THE WEEK:**

**The Love Boat by Twilly **

**Theories of Bellativity by Kikiseven**

**If you guys have any rec's that you want put out there, let me know! I'm all about spreading the word! **

**See you next tuesday!**

**xoxoxoxo**

**KK**


	6. The Hike

**A/N: Hi guys! **

**I need to address some things that most of you have been saying. First of all, the movie _Wanted_ is my muse for this story as most of you have guessed. This fic won't be cannon to that movie. It's been entirely reworked! Trust me, you'll see. :D!**

**Thank you to all of you who voted for TH on Teh Lemonade Stand! I didn't place, but it's an honor to be nominated just as well. So thanks for all the nominations and votes. :)  
**

**Thanks to my team! Twilly on the pre-read, and MyHeroin01 with her superb beta skillz!**

**Of course a thanks to The Fictionators, as well as the girls from TLS! You know who you are, and I love ya!**

**Yeah... this is getting long. Meet me at the bottom.**

* * *

"Oh shit.." I murmured as I stepped into what would obviously be my living quarters. It was lush and comfortable with hues of charcoal grey, black and silver. Despite the cave like hallways, the area looked more like a bedroom from any upscale apartment. The black lacquered furniture was heavy, ornate, and extremely stylish.

"I take it that you like your accommodations?" She asked, a small smile on her lips.

I nodded, still speechless.

"Well, clothes and toiletries have been taken care of. As Aro told you, you've been expected." She turned, pointing to a door to the left hand side, "That's your shared bathroom."

"_Shared?_" I rasped.

"Yes, _shared_. Make sure you put the toilet seat down, pretty boy. I might have to kill you if I fall in."

I snorted a laugh, shaking my head. It made me feel marginally better to know it was her I was sharing with. We didn't have the most orthodox meeting, but she was the most familiar face around here.

"Deal."

Flopping down in one of the two black leather armchairs, she followed my lead and leaned forward, clasping her hands together in front of her. "So here is the deal, we hit the floor at four every morning. That gives you an hour to shower, wake up and get to the field at five. We work out, train, or whatever until seven. After that, we eat breakfast at eight."

I nodded, waving for her to continue.

"After that, we usually get briefed on orders and assignments." She shrugged.

"So, we're going on a mission tomorrow?" I asked, feeling my pulse race.

She shook her head fervently, "God _no_! You're not ready, not even close."

The adrenaline that had flooded my system slowed to a slow trickle, causing me to sag in my seat. A rueful smirk tugged at her lips as she cocked a brow at me, "Were you _excited_?"

"No, not really excited. Just..." I chewed on my bottom lip, contemplating on what I was trying to say, "It feels good to be _needed_ for something. All my life I've felt..." I sighed, grumbling at the flaming shit that was spewing from my mouth. It didn't make sense, not even to me.

I chanced a glance at her face, and her furrowed brows told it all. I huffed, waving a hand towards her, "See? I can't even say what I mean!"

"Out of place?" She offered, her expression oddly compassionate. My brows practically flew off my face in surprise.

"Edward, I need you to remember something. I've _been_ you before. What you see right now, isn't who I've always been." She sighed, patting my hand awkwardly. I could tell that she wasn't in the business of comforting people, but the fact that she tried to placate me, spoke volumes.

"Get some sleep. See you in the morning." She murmured, making her way to the door. She paused with her hand on the knob, "Oh, and if you're not out of the bathroom by 4:30, I'll shoot your balls off."

I snickered quietly as the door clicked behind her.

**[~x.X~] T.H. [~X.x~]**

My. Lungs. Were. On. Fire!

Sure, I would be willing to admit that I was slightly out of shape, but _this_ was torture. Not only was the trail winding and hilly, it was littered with boulders and fallen trees. No, this wasn't your average morning run, it was a high speed _hike_. The total loop turned out to be three miles out and three miles back. By the time we were two and a half miles in, I collapsed face first onto the ground.

"Masen! What the fuck!?" Bella's voice snapped from a few yards ahead of me.

I rolled over on my back, every muscle in my body protesting against the movement. I pried my eyes open, watching her as she jogged back towards me.

"You know we aren't even halfway through the trail, don't you?"

I groaned in discomfort and threw my arm over my eyes, wincing at the soreness. "Do you think you can just give me a minute?"

Huffing impatiently, she flopped down on the grass beside me and pulled her knees to her chest. "You know, I wasn't even expecting you to make it this far." She stated with a sardonic grin.

"So much for support." I deadpanned, and hauled myself to a sitting position. I looked around, realizing that we were in a meadow of some sort. The lush green grass was glistening and there were wildflowers all around us.

"Oh look, there's a pansy!" Bella exclaimed gleefully.

"I don't see any pansies, Bella. Those are..."

"I do, it's one sitting right here next to me." She snorted, bumping my shoulder with her own. "Get your ass up, and let's get moving. Your minute is up."

Grabbing my hand and tugging me to my feet without effort, she placed both hands on my back and pushed me to get going again.

When we finally made it back to the start point, I thought my lungs were going to literally disintegrate. She handed me a bottled water that I rudely chugged before thanking her. I leaned back against the wall of the warehouse, and slid down. "

"Thanks..." I muttered, while waving the empty plastic lamely.

She waved me off, "You deserved it."

Despite the water that I had just guzzled, my mouth dried at the site of her tugging off her tank top and drying her flushed face with it. Standing in front of me in only a sports bra and the tiniest of shorts, Bella was a vision with her smooth peaches and cream skin, tinged with the fairest pink of exertion. The taut muscles in her abdomen, tightened and relaxed and she dabbed at her damp skin.

I swallowed thickly at the way her shorts rested low on her hips, showing off the swirling black ink that disappeared below the waistband. My eyes traveled even lower to her shapely legs that seemed to go on for miles.

Inadvertently, my eyes locked on the juncture of her thighs. The tiny little 'V' there was taunting me with a vengeance.

"Hey, where did you go?" She laughed, snapping her fingers in front of my face.

"Um... I... was just thinking?" It came out as more of a question than I intended, but it wasn't really a lie.

She shrugged and waved me on, "Come on, it's time to eat." I stood, stretching my now tight muscles and followed her.

"Oh, and Masen?" she stopped, and turned to me with her hands on her hips.

"Yeah?"

"I think I have a new nickname for you besides pretty boy."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

"Crotch Watcher."

She doubled over in laughter as my face flooded with heat. This was going to be a long, _long_ partnership.

* * *

***snort* Crotch Watcher... Yeah I pulled that one outta my ass.**

**Anyway, are you guys still here? Did I lose anyone? Let me know! Drop me a line!**

**Love you guyz!**

**xoxoxo**

**KK**


	7. Lessons in Technicolor

**A/N: Hello lovelies! **

**Well, a few things need to be done as always. My thanks go out to allll of you guys! TH made it's first 100 reviews yesterday! *throws confetti* That makes me feel allllllllll kinds of awesome and I love you guys for it!**

**To Twilly and MyHeroin01, you guys mean more to me than I can say. It's great to have a team that's _so_ great. ILY!**

**Okay, on with it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I do own this particular Badassward and Bitchella. ;)**

* * *

Six weeks.

It had been six weeks since I started this gruesome exercise regimen. Six weeks since I had contact with anyone besides my new 'family'. _Six weeks_ since I had disappeared from the face of the earth, and nobody cared.

Not _one_ fucking person even acknowledged that I was missing.

Not _one_!

I took to the trail with a vengeance, vaulting over boulders and hopping falling trees with ease. The course had become much more tolerable, and my muscles no longer seized with pain after our morning run. As we broke through the clearing to the meadow, I felt a hand wrap around my bicep.

"Okay, what the hell crawled up your ass this morning?" Bella asked, ducking her head to look into my eyes.

"Does it matter?" I snapped, my voice louder than I had intended.

She backed away, hands up in surrender, "Sorry! No need to be dickish, Edward."

I exhaled a long breath, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. It's just... I'm here, nobody cares, and I haven't done a damned thing but run around here with you for the last six weeks!"

She let out a wry chuckle, and just like that, any headway I'd made with my partner vanished.

"So, you think you're ready because you've gained a little bit of muscle mass, and you can run six miles?" Her dark chocolate eyes glinted in the sparse sunlight as she advanced towards me, "Listen, pretty boy, you are still that same guy. The one who cowers at the sound of a gunshot. The one who has the confidence of a banana peel. The one who..."

Her voice trailed off, but her lips were still moving. My pulse rate skyrocketed as everything in sight became brighter, clearer and sharper. The only thing that I could hear was the slow steady cadence of my breathing, and her severely muffled voice. It was the eeriest feeling, almost like being underwater. Without my permission, my hand shot outward towards her, and I gripped the straps of her tank top in one hand and pulled towards me. It wasn't until she drew back and punched me right between my eyes, that I felt that I had actual control over my body.

"OH FUCK!" I roared, slapping my hand over my forehead, stumbling back a few steps.

"If you _ever_ grab me like that again, I'll rip you to shreds!" She hissed in a deadly, venomous voice.

"You don't understand! That wasn't my intention!" I yelled back in irritation. It was the truth, I've _never_ been violent towards a female. _Ever. _Not even the one who ripped my heart to pieces.

"What do you mean 'it wasn't your intention'!? You reached out and grabbed _me!_ For fuck's sake, my feet were _off_ the ground!"

"I literally couldn't stop myself!" I yelled back, one hand fisted in my hair, the other cradling my now throbbing head.

Excitement flashed in her eyes as she lunged at me, grabbing me by my shoulders, "Edward! I think I've got it!"

**[~x.X T.H. x.X~]**

"I don't understand what the hell you're doing here, but let me tell you, this hurts like a _bitch_!" I groaned, pulling apart the velcro on the kevlar vest I was wearing.

I rubbed my sore ribs, with a grimace. Bella, seemed to have had the notion that I was one step away from unleashing what I was capable of.

"I'm trying to figure out what your trigger is." She shrugged, "It's unique to each individual."

Unfortunately for me, that meant testing her theory with target practice. Me being the target, that is. I glared at her as she re-loaded her gun with practice bullets. In reality, practice bullets are just rubber balls, but that definitely doesn't mean they don't hurt.

"Okay, I get it, and I appreciate it. But I don't think..." My voice died in my throat when I heard her firearm discharge. A sharp, stabbing pain radiated from my left arm and up my shoulder.

"Hmm, apparently the element of surprise isn't it either." She murmured.

"Are you kidding me right now!?" I yelled, inspecting my wounded arm. Okay, so it wasn't really wounded, the skin didn't actually break.

"I'm sorry! I don't know what else to do! It's not like there is a protocol for this kind of thing!" She huffed in frustration, flopping down next to me on the bench. Her head dropped back to the wall with a soft thud, eyes closed and deep in thought.

"Tell me something." She murmured after a few minutes had passed.

"Sure."

"What's your biggest fear, Edward?"

"Failure." I answered immediately without thought. Her eyes opened slowly, shifting to mine for a brief moment.

"Huh, I guess we have a lot more in common than I thought." She stated softly, placing the gun in my hand. "Look, we're going to try this a different way."

She walked across the room, and set the timer for the 'pop up targets.' Pulling on a pair of goggles, she gave me a small smile, "You have about ten seconds to get yourself together before we both die."

I frowned at her, "You know my aim sucks, Bella. I can't just..."

"_Yes_, you can!" She hissed, frustration coating her normally pleasant voice.

The spring loaded latch released on the first target as I tried to steady my hand. Before I could even align the sight on the barrel the target was gone, and yet another was up across the room.

"Edward, don't over think! Just fire!"

I gripped the gun tighter, focusing even harder. Unfortunately, that yielded the same results. Bella was in my periphery, watching me with extreme scrutiny. I could even make out the slight pucker between her brows as she analyzed my every move.

"FIRE THE DAMN WEAPON!"

A familiar surge of adrenaline rushed through my system. My mouth was dry, sweat beaded on my forehead, and it was as if I saw the world in technicolor. Every sound was sharp and clear, the latches and pulleys loud and thunderous in my ears.

To my left...

To my right...

The undeniable focus never wavered as the discordant sound of gunfire echoed over and over again. As the last target popped into view, partially obscured by Bella's shoulder, I fired without rhyme or reason. I could see it all, the puff of gunpowder as the practice bullet discharged, the displacement of air as it sailed forward, the slight flutter of Bella's hair as it whizzed right past her hair, and the shredding of the cardboard as the practice bullet made its mark. _All_ of it, as if someone slowed the entire world down. Her startled squeak snapped me out of the trance. I watched as her hand flew to the unmarred skin of her neck.

Slowly, she turned and assessed the target behind her. A perfect headshot.

"My god, Edward. Do you realized you just emptied an entire clip in 10 seconds? That every shot was perfectly timed _and_ fatal?"

I swallowed thickly, shaking my head in disbelief.

She nodded fervently, turning her awestruck eyes back to me once more. "I think... No, I _know_ you're ready."

* * *

**For you guys who read the teasers on The Fictionators, how many of you thought that my little Eddie Spaghetti was violent?** **LOL!**

**No, that's definitely _not_ the case here. I do _not, _under _any_ circumstances condone a woman-beater. Just saying. :)  
**

**So what are you thinking? Let me know, I _live_ to get inside your heads. Drop me a line, and I'll drop you one back.**

**Sorry I didn't get a chance to respond to reviews. You guys know I try my hardest, but I do work around 52 hours a week. So yeah...**

**LOVE YOU! See you next Tuesday!**

**xoxoxoxo**

**KK**


	8. First Mission

**A/N: Okay guys I owe you an apology. I was a total fail last week. LOL! RL was just total shit. So yeah... **

**I love you guys SOOOO much. I didn't get to respond to reviews, I was stretched entirely too thin. So with that being said. THANK YOU! I read each and every review and I LOVE you for them. **

**Welcome to all my new readers! Put your seatbelts on and let's take this ride, yes?**

**Thanks to Twilly and Myheroin01 for their expertness. MWAH! **

**Let's get it on, shall we?**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

* * *

**Bella**

I stared at the guy before me completely stupefied. I'd only met one other person that harnessed something so incredibly powerful. _One._

Edward wasn't the little wimp I abducted anymore. No, not at all. Edward Masen had evolved into a very, _very_ dangerous young man.

The precision and grace in which he handled the gun was spot on, and if I'm being entirely honest, it was _beyond_ sexy. In my case, we'll say that honesty is _not_ the best policy. _Fatal Attraction_ isn't just a movie.

"I think I found your trigger, Edward."

He swallowed thickly, staring at me imploringly, "Oh yeah? Feel free to clue me in. I'm drawing a blank here."

"When we were out on the trail you couldn't control your actions, how did you feel?" I asked, hoping he would be able to paint the picture for himself.

"Angry."

"Okay. So, how did you feel just then? Before you fired your first shot?"

"Frustrated."

I raised my brows, gesturing to him with my hands to 'work it out'. His brow dipped in thought as he buried both hands in his hair. I saw the moment the light bulb went off.

"Extreme emotion!" He exclaimed, pointing at me good naturedly.

I nodded slowly, an involuntary smile tugging at my lips. His excitement was contagious as he swooped me up in a tight hug. The whoosh of air that burst through my lips wasn't because I was surprised.

Well, yes, I _was_ surprised, but not because I was in his arms with my feet dangling at least a foot from the floor. It was because I could _feel_ the definition of his torso muscles through the thin material of his shirt. I could _see_ the tensing and release of the strong muscles in his biceps and forearms. The humdinger of it all was, I literally had to _fight_ to not squirm and press my legs together to squelch the burning inferno between my legs.

I. Am. So. Fucked.

He lowered me to the ground, pulling back slightly to look down at me. He abruptly took a step back, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

"I'm sorry, I didn't.. I shouldn't have just grabbed you like that." He stammered, his eyes everywhere but on my face.

I realized a moment too late that I was staring at him with the deer-in-headlights look. I shook my head slightly, schooled my features, and patted his arm awkwardly, "No, it's fine. You just surprised me a little there." I could feel the flush creeping down my neck, mind you I was _not _embarrassed.

"So, er.. I think I'm going to run to the room to take a shower." He stammered, thumbing over his shoulder.

I nodded, albeit a little jerkily,all the while picking imaginary lint off my shorts. "Yeah, sure. I'll just shower in Alice's room. I'll see you at dinner. You know, in the mess hall." I internally facepalmed in honor of my ridiculous word vomit.

**[~x.X T.H. x.X~]**

"Alice, what the hell am I gonna do!?" I hissed, pacing from one side of the room to the other. "This is not good. This is _so_ not good."

Her slate grey eyes followed me back and forth as I mumbled maniacally to myself.

"First of all, you're going to stop trying to wear a hole in my carpet. Second of all, you need to sit down and tell me what you're talking about. Nothing you've said since you got here has made any sense!"

I flopped down in an armchair, deflated and defeated. "I need to get laid."

She paused, blinked, and exploded into hysterical laughter. "That's what you intruded on my personal time to tell me?"

"No, Alice." I sighed, glaring at her amusement. "I almost tackled Edward and dry humped him into oblivion."

That set her off on another giggle fit, and I had to refrain from slapping her. "What's wrong with that? You two _do _have to spend a lot of time together. It's only natural."

"That may be true, but I doubt it will be that funny when C.J. hears about this."

Her laughter abruptly stopped and her eyes widened. I threw a sardonic grin her way, "Yeah, that's what I thought. He's already _livid_. That's just more fuel to the fire."

"Yeah, he is pretty mad." She nodded derisively, "You might as well have fun. He's probably going to kick your ass anyway."

I scowled at her, "Alice, you're like the worst confidant ever. Hands down."

"So I've heard." She mused dryly. "Moving on past your emo bullshit, C.J. expects a call within the next twenty four hours. So you need to steel yourself, and stop brooding. Capiche?"

I waved my hand dismissively, "Sure, sure."

"Oh, and go shower. You smell like a chicken shit." She chirped, dodging the pillow flying towards her face.

After showering, I pulled on an a pair of Alice's oversized yoga pants and a tank top and we both headed towards the mess hall. The sinking in the pit of my stomach was much worse now that I'd had time to ruminate on the situation, making eating practically impossible. I grabbed an orange, foregoing the heavier options, and sat down at the usual table I shared with Edward.

He glanced up from the stack of papers in a manila folder he was reading, giving me a small smile of acknowledgement.

"What'cha got there, sexy pants." Alice piped, shoving a forkful of penne pasta in her mouth.

"Sexy pants? No, Allie. Just no." He snickered, pushing the file towards us.

"That, ladies, is the work up of Emmett McCarty. My first mission."

I watched Alice freeze right next to me, her eyes darted to mine imperceptibly, and I granted her with the tiniest bob of my head.

"Emmett McCarty? What have you found out about him so far?" I asked, flipping through the pages in front of me lazily.

"Well, besides the fact that he's built like a British shit house, not much. Apparently he's a broker for _Breaking Dawn Investments_, lives a pretty mediocre life, seems pretty low key."

I flipped through page after page taking note of the usual run of the mill information. Name, date of birth, social security number, photos, mode of transportation, etc. I flipped it closed, sliding it back his way again. "So, how do you feel? Nervous? Excited?"

"A little of both." He shrugged, "It's just a little stage fright. I'm sure I can handle it."

I smiled at his new found confidence, shaking my head playfully. "I'm sure you're right. So, when is your deadline?"

"It says..." he paused flipping through the pages, "fourteen days."

I nodded, "Let's go case this clown."

His lips twisted into an excited grin, "Lead the way."

* * *

**WAIT! Don't kill me! I need you guys to trust me, okay? **

**OKAY!?**

**Although I promise _nothing, _I still want you guys to just bear with it. **

***hides behind couch until next Tuesday***


	9. Thrill of the Fight

**Disclaimer: I don't own it.  
**

**Helllloooooo all! ;)**

**I know this is late, and I'm SO SO SORRY! You probably aren't listening to a thing I'm saying...**

**Just see me at the bottom. LOL.**

* * *

"_Would you get over here!? NOW!" _Bella hissed, apparently annoyed with my attempt at being covert. How was I supposed to know assailants don't really hide in the bushes?

I jogged over to her, pulling the worn ball cap lower over my eyes. "What? We're supposed to be casi... -_oomph,_" Her elbow in my ribs cut my sentence short as the deadbolt lock on the back door clicked out of place.

"Sorry," she giggled quietly as she pushed the door open. She craned her head, listening intently for any occupants. Nothing. Her shoulders relaxed slightly as she pushed the door open all the way, entering with trepidation.

We were in the kitchen of the spacious house, the spacious _sterile_ house. There were no accents, nothing. Just spotless stainless steel appliances and gleaming marble countertops.

She blew a long slow breath through her nose as she pulled two pair of gloves from her back pocket. "Okay, here's the deal. Try not to touch anything, but if you _do_ touch anything make sure you put it back exactly how it was, deal?"

She handed me a pair of the aforementioned gloves before slipping hers on. "Oh, and we have about 45 minutes to get any and every piece of information on this guy. Make sure you're thorough and efficient. This will be the last time we're inside his home."

"Cool, I'll work this floor. How about you take the second floor?" I asked, peeking in various drawers and cabinets.

"Sure, sure." She disappeared around the corner as I continued to rummage through the kitchen.

Finding nothing worth investigating in the room, I moved to the living room. It was just as plain as the rest of the house. No pictures, newspapers on the table, not even one piece of mail. The only thing I could see was a planner lying on a end table beside the lamp.

"May as well be comfortable" I grumbled, sitting down on the chaise lounge and pulling the small leather bound book into my lap.

Again, nothing of consequence.

**Stock Trade with Michael Newton. 9/11/12**

**Lunch meeting with Rose and CJ 9/12/12**

**Flight to Los Angeles 9:00am 9/14/12**

I closed the book, placing it back on the end table before I made my way down the hall to the bathroom, then the laundry room, then the dining room.

Realizing that I wasn't going to find anything worth my time, I headed up the stairs to find Bella. Maybe she had found _something_ in this shell of a house. I found her in the bedroom with her back to me, looking through a desk drawer.

"I didn't find anything down there." I mumbled.

Even with my soft tone of voice, she startled, whirling around giving me a death glare. I bit my bottom lip to hide my smile, even though she looked ready to chop my balls off. Angry Bella was cute.

"I doubt it would have been funny if I castrated you right then." She muttered sourly.

I snorted, rifling through the drawers of the nightstand to my left. Suddenly, a tingling overtook my entire body as goosebumps erupted all over my skin. I swallowed thickly, taking a deep breath. The onslaught of panic was completely illogical.

The sickening sound of a gun cocking into place made the panic a little less irrational. I froze as my eyes snapped to Bella's. Her eyes were closed, her brow was scrunched in a scowl. She'd apparently heard it too.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" A deep voice seethed quietly from the doorway of the bedroom.

Slowly, I turned, seeking out the exact location of the guy that could end it all before it began. He was standing there with a gun expertly trained on Bella, but his eyes were on _me_. He almost looked... _pleading._

Just as his picture suggested, Emmett McCarty was _massive_. The guy had to be pure muscle, well over six feet tall, and no doubt extremely pissed.

His ice blue eyes narrowed in Bella's direction as she spoke. "It depends."

"On _what_, exactly? You're in _my _house, in _my_ bedroom, going through _my_ things. Now is _not _the time to be a smartass." He sneered, taking a step closer to her.

My nostrils flared as a rush of anger flowed through me. I didn't want him anywhere _near_ Bella. My fists clenched at my sides as I bit my tongue. The timing was off, and if I made a rash move I could get us both killed.

She cocked her head to the side, a humorless laugh bursting through her lips, "You are so right. Where are my manners?"

He reeled back from her sarcastic remark, a look of irritation on his face. I took that as my chance, and slammed my body into his as hard as I could. The blow wasn't as effective as it should've been considering he was relatively close, but enough for him to discharge a shot by accident. The now familiar sluggish haziness overshadowed my senses as his right fist connected with my jaw.

Capability be _damned_! It hurt. Like a _BITCH_!

He swung again in the next second, but I dodged it, using his momentum to spin him around and lock my arms underneath his. The gun slipped from his grip and skidded across the floor, underneath the bed.

He let out a stream of violent curses before the back of his head slammed into my nose. My hands flew to my face in reflex, my first mistake. His elbow connected harshly with my ribs, causing me to double over, leading to my _second_ mistake. As the firm side of his fist connected with my spine to my shoulder blades, I fell face first onto the floor.

Emmett McCarty _wasn't_ your average broker. That was for _damn_ sure.

Before I could gain my bearings, Bella was on him. Her short little legs were wrapped around him and her arms formed a tight vice around his neck. Emmett flailed around a bit, surprised at his lack of air. I could see the blood vessels bursting in his eyes. Even expertly done, it didn't last long. Reaching behind him, he grabbed a handful of her hair, flinging her towards the bed. When he dove toward her, I felt my heart beating out of my chest. I reached for him to yank him back, but I was a day late and a dollar short. I missed him. Big time.

Bella's eyes widened for a second and narrowed in fury. One thing I'd learned from my mother, and Tanya. You never _ever_ grab a woman's hair. Ever.

I watched in shock as her anger consumed and empowered her. In a move I would have never thought of, Bella bucked her hips off the mattress in time to lock her legs around his neck. With her last burst of rage, she threw herself to the left, rolling off the bed, pinning the massive beast to the floor.

Before he could break out of his shock, I scrambled to recover the gun, firing off a shot without thought or aim.

I watched in slow motion as the spinning metal sliced the cotton of his shirt, and pierced the skin of his abdomen. Blood splattered up onto Bella's back as she leapt up frantically. A loud roar emanated through the room as he clutched his wounded stomach, his face etched with pain and blood seeping through his fingers.

Then I made my _third_ mistake of the evening. I looked him right in the eye. I was frozen in his stare as the light from his eyes grew dimmer and dimmer. My stomach churned violently and suddenly I couldn't get enough air.

Bella's small hand in the middle of my chest grounded me, but only a little. "Okay, listen. You've got to keep it together. We _have _to get out of here."

She coaxed me backwards until the bloody scene was out of sight. Linking her fingers in mine she tugged me forward, down the stairs, and out of the backdoor where we started.

Opting to take public transportation in lieu of the car being spotted, we jogged a few blocks over and caught the bus. The ride to the other side of the city was quiet, and extraordinarily uncomfortable. All I could see was his pained expression playing on loop in my head. Over and over and over. Bella kept throwing worried glances my way, but kept quiet.

After retrieving her car from a parking garage, we made our way back to _The Grotto,_ the air still thick with tension. I didn't utter a single sound until I was alone in my room. The building anguish and torment climaxed with a sickening wretch. I bolted to the bathroom, making it just in time to empty the contents of my stomach into the toilet. My hair was plastered to my sweaty forehead as I trembled uncontrollably.

I heard the tap of the sink turn on in the background, then relaxing coolness against the heated skin of my forehead. Those same arms that had almost taken life from a man mere hours ago, wrapped around my torso, offering comfort.

I felt her fingers glide through my hair as she dragged the cool damp cloth down and over the back of my neck.

"I killed him, Bella." I croaked hoarsely.

Pulling me closer against her, she continued combing her fingers through my hair. "Shhh. It's okay. I've got you."

I nodded, closed my eyes, and melted into her embrace, taking whatever comfort she offered me.

* * *

**Okay... so I know you guys are upset with me. I _know_ you are. **

**This has a significance and it's imperative that this was put here in order for the story to unfold. I PROMISE it has a rhyme and a reason. **

**Trust me? Please? *puppy dog eyes***

**NOW, for the challenge of the chapter: There was something... _odd _in this chapter. Who can tell me what it is? If you caught it, you better be fast, because the first person who can get it right get's their teaser early! That's right! So... GO!**

**By the way, I'm starting school soon, and I'll be a stretched a little tighter. I think I may make my updates bi-weekly instead of weekly. Whatever I decide you guys will be the first to know. **

**Thanks to my team Twilly and MyHeroin01 like always. **

**Thanks in advance to those who always review. MWAH! I love you guys my than I can say!**

**xoxoxoxo**

**KK**


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